


New Adventures

by Methoxyethane



Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Anime)
Genre: Aged Up, Ahhhhh I couldn't help myself I had to write pokemon fic, Courting Rituals, Getting Together, M/M, Tooth-Rotting Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-10
Updated: 2021-03-10
Packaged: 2021-03-16 17:02:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,030
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29953134
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Methoxyethane/pseuds/Methoxyethane
Summary: When Ash realizes he likes someone for the first time in his life, he's quick to take action. With a little help from a few friends, of course.
Relationships: Gou | Goh/Satoshi | Ash Ketchum
Comments: 3
Kudos: 58





	New Adventures

Notes: The characters are aged up but not by much, I’d say probably about 15 at most. Also, I made up a new region for Ash to have been visiting, because the anime already used everywhere that exists in canon and I didn’t feel like I had much of a choice if I wanted to write them aged up like they are. 

—

Ash and Pikachu arrived back in Vermillion city quietly, after a quick stop back in Pallet Town to see his mother for a day or two. He could have sent a message, or called ahead to let everyone in Cerise Laboratories know he was coming back so soon, but he always had more fun surprising his friends with his visits than letting them know he was coming ahead of time. You got to see their genuine reactions that way, and it was always so heartwarming to know he was welcome even if he showed up without any warning.

“Ash!” Goh’s greeting was the warmest, and Ash was met with a warm body plowing into his to wrap him in a quick hug. “It’s been so long, you were traveling in the Kengal region for months! How was it?”

“Beautiful! People make it all seem like it’s just savanna and deserts, but there were cities and mountains and jungles, and it was all amazing!”

“Wow, maybe I should have stayed with you for your gym challenge, after all. What about the Kengal League, I couldn’t find any streams of it to watch so I don’t even know how it went!”

“Oh man, I got so close to taking the whole thing, Goh!” Ash said, grinning at his friend. “Me and Pikachu hesitated for just a second in the last match of the finals, and it cost us the entire match! I came in second to this amazing trainer named Keesha, she totally deserved to win. It still stung when I lost to her, though.”

Goh’s eyes sparkled, and his voice was filled with awe. “Wow, even  _ you  _ lost? There are still so many strong trainers all over the world, it must be so fun to keep meeting and battling them!”

“Always!” Ash agreed cheerfully. There was a reason being a Pokemon Master was his dream - it was the most fun thing Ash could imagine. “I can’t wait to see what life brings me next!”

Goh smiled back, and when Pikachu joined in with an enthusiastic “Pika pika!” everyone laughed.

“What about you, Goh? Did you catch every pokemon in Kanto yet?” Ash asked as they made their way inside the lab, greeting the Professor and his assistants briefly before making their way back to their old shared bedroom so Ash could drop off his backpack. 

“Not every one, I keep getting distracted by traveling around to other regions. I’m over a full hundred of the local pokemon, though!” He pulled out his phone to scroll through his pokedex, showing off everything he’d caught so far. “According to my research, I’m mostly missing rarer pokemon, so it’ll still be a bit of work to finish up this region’s pokedex. And I think I need about six more eevees, since I only caught the two so far.”

“That’s more fun to hunt for rare pokemon anyway,” Ash said with a grin. “And now that I’m back, I’ll be there to help you scare them out!”

Goh looked at him with a glowing smile, excitedly asking, “So you’re sticking around for a while?”

Ash nodded. “I missed you, and everyone here at the lab, too!”

Goh grinned, elbowing him in the ribs. “What, didn’t you make any new friends in Kengal?” 

“Sure I did, but I know you way better than I got to know any of them. I knew I’d have to leave eventually, so it wasn’t the same.”

And that was the truth. He’d really missed Goh while he was traveling, more than he’d ever imagined he would. He’d met and parted with a lot of friends in his day, but somehow, it seemed like he’d gotten closer to Goh than anyone else in all his travels. And Ash had been all over the world, met dozens of people he called his friends, and yet somehow, he really had missed Goh nearly every second of being away, unlike how he’d ever missed friends in the past.

It was weird, but not a bad thing, Ash was pretty sure. He liked the warm fuzzy feelings he got whenever he and Goh were together, liked the way his heart pounded and his skin tingled whenever they happened to touch. He even liked missing Goh, because it meant when they met again they’d have all sorts of adventures and things to talk about. Ash knew that they’d inevitably stay up all night talking now that he was back, and he couldn't wait for it.

He liked all of his friends, liked all of his rivals too, but there was something about Goh that had always been… different. Always been special, in a way that Ash didn’t know how to explain. It was a little like how he was closer to Pikachu than anyone else, but since Goh was a human and he and Ash could actually have human conversations, it was also totally different in every way, too. 

He usually didn’t spend too much time thinking about it, honestly. He and Goh were best friends, and that was good enough for Ash. At least, it had been for the past few years they’d known each other, even if the weird butterfree in his stomach never quite stopped beating their wings whenever Goh smiled at him.

As expected, they’d stayed up all night talking. Instead of each of them going to their respective bunk beds, though, they stayed spread out on their floor, chatting and trading stories until they both fell asleep right there on the ground, Pikachu settled happily on Ash’s bed all by himself.

The room was small enough that when Ash woke up in the middle of the night to stretch, he realized how close he and Goh were on the floor. Close enough that he could see Goh’s eyelashes, close enough to watch the rise and fall of his chest as he breathed, close enough to hear the quiet sound of his even breaths. 

Somehow, Ash wanted to get even closer still. Wanted to feel the warmth of his body, wanted to gather Goh up into his arms so his breath would tickle Ash’s neck as they slept. Wanted to stay that way til morning, wake up to Goh’s face smiling at him and start tomorrow as close to him as possible before going on to spend all day adventuring by his side.

And, he realized, staring down at Goh’s lips, he wanted to kiss him, too. Goh’s lips looked so soft, slightly parted and just a little moist from his breathing out of his mouth while he slept. Ash stared at them for a while, wondering what it meant when you had thoughts like this about another boy.

Logically, it must mean he liked Goh, right? Or loved him, probably. If you dreamed of spending every minute with someone and kissing them and holding them, those were like… love symptoms. Was he in love with Goh? Was it okay if he was?

He thought of the warmth of Goh’s hug this afternoon, thought of the way they had talked for hours after dinner until they’d both dozed off on the floor like baby littens. He was pretty sure it was all a good thing, but only if Goh like him back. And he couldn’t think of a reason why Goh wouldn’t like him back, not the way they acted toward each other. Not the way Goh smiled at him like Ash was everything in the world, right? 

Well. Even if Ash was just seeing things, he felt like he had to try anyway. Nothing in life worth doing was worth putting off, which meant Ash should dive right in and confess his love, shouldn’t he? , 

Okay. In the morning, he’d think of something romantic to say and ask Goh out properly. But for now, Ash was gonna scoot just a few inches closer to fall back asleep.

The plan seemed simple enough. All Ash had to do was think of something romantic he could do for Goh and confess his feelings. The problem was, he couldn't think of a single date to take Goh on that they hadn’t already been on. From riding on Lugia’s back to exploring ancient ruins, from battling against Mewtwo side by side to finding the legendary home for dragonite, they’d been on every kind of romantic adventure Ash could think of already. They shared train rides and hotel rooms, they shared meals and had met each other’s parents. There wasn’t a single thing Ash could rack his brain for that they HADN’T already done together, besides like. Actually kiss and hold hands and stuff like that.

Who would know anything about stuff like dating? He knew a couple of girls who had boyfriends, but somehow, he didn’t think a girl’s perspective would be helpful when he was trying to ask out another boy. Did he know any other boys who went out with boys?

Oh, he did, actually! This could be helpful. So Ash snuck into the bathroom where he wouldn’t be overheard, and called up the one person who’s number he had that might be able to help.

The Rotom Phone rung for a few seconds before it was picked up, and Leon’s face greeted Ash warmly from the other side of the screen. “Hey, Ash, what’s up? I don’t hear from you very often, so it must be important.”

“Um, only sort of?” Ash said, suddenly nervous to be talking about this. “For once, it has nothing to do with pokemon, so. It’s more of a personal situation I’m in.”

Leon puffed up with pride, replying with a lofty, “Oh, personal problems already? I keep forgetting how old you’ve gotten! I’ll help with anything I can, just ask away!”

Ash swallowed his nervousness, getting straight to the point. “You… you’re dating Raihan, right?”

Leon instantly turned red, scratching at his cheek. “Uh, I mean, yeah I am, but I don’t remember telling…”

“Well, Raihan posts pics of you guys together all the time and the caption is usually like, ‘Out on a date with the bae’ so I just figured…”

“Oh yeah,” Leon said like he’d just realized something obvious. “He is always taking pictures, I kind of just phase it out now. A-anyway, what does Raihan have to do with anything? Did you need his phone number?”

Ash shook his head. “Not unless you can’t help. I was just thinking, you’re the only guy I’m friends with who’s dating another guy, and I wanted to know how you two started going out? I’m kind of trying to ask someone out, but I don’t even know where to start.”

Leon was blushing again, and he gave Ash an awkward little laugh. “Um, I’m not sure how much help I can be, since it was Raihan who asked me out.”

“Okay, well how did he do it? What did he say?”

Leon grinned. “Well, we had just finished battling each other like we do all the time, right? And afterwards, he invited me out to dinner, which also isn’t that weird. Except this time he said to me, ‘You know as great as I am as your rival, I’d make an even better boyfriend.’ And he was right.”

Wow, that was… “Such a cool thing to say! I’ll never be able to come up with a line that good!” And he couldn’t steal it either, because Goh was more of a best friend than an actual rival. Shoot.

“I know right? Raihan is so cool,” Leon agreed, happily glowing. “But if that doesn’t help you, I can only think of one other thing. Here in Galar, we have a tradition where the person trying to confess catches an applin and gives it to the person they like. Nowadays people don’t do it as often, and when they do I’ve heard of people taking it a step further and finding a shiny applin.”

“Oh, that’s a really cute idea! But I don’t think Goh knows about that tradition, so maybe flying all the way out to Galar just to catch him an applin would be…”

Leon nodded. “That’s a good point. But since it’s Goh, maybe the idea of catching him a pokemon could still work? He does collect them, after all.”

Ash nodded back. He thanked Leon for his time and advice, and thought about what he might be able to catch for Goh that he didn’t already have on his own. Something… romantic. But also something local, so Ash wouldn’t have to fly to a different region looking for a gift for his intended. But what could fit both those criteria?

“What do you think, Pikachu?” He asked his partner, who had been quietly but cheerfully watching the entire exchange between him and Leon.

Pikachu looked thoughtful for a moment. “Pika?” He suggested after a pause, and Ash brightened up instantly. 

“You’re right, Pikachu! I should have thought of that myself!”

Neither of them questioned whether or not they were even on the same wavelength. They always were, after all, communication barriers aside.

\--

“Are you sure I even need to help you with this?” Misty said, waving her flashlight into a corner to scare out a team of wild zubats. “It seems more romantic to catch one by yourself.”

“Yeah,” Ash agreed, “But when I told him I was going to Cerulean City for a few days my excuse was that I wanted to catch up with you. That means if you AREN’T here, I’m a liar! You don’t want me to start off my new relationship with a LIE, do you?”

“I guess not,” She said, stalking further into the caves. “But the whole plan seems a little iffy to me. What are you gonna do if we don’t find one?”

“We HAVE to find at least one!” Ash declared. “Besides, how big can one mountain really be?”

This particular mountain was, especially on the inside, incredibly big. It took three days to find what they were looking for, and by the end of spending three days on the inside of a mountain Misty kind of hated him. But it would all be worth it when he got home to Goh and gave to him what he’d spent so much time and energy looking for. Also, Misty would get over it.

“I wasn’t expecting you to leave so soon after you got back from Kengal,” Goh said when he got back, “But I’m glad you’re home safely. Did you have fun with Misty?”

Ash considered that for a moment. “Well, I know  _ I _ had fun. Misty probably less so,” he answered honestly.

Goh snored out a laugh, and followed Ash to their bedroom to drop off his backpack. “Yeah, that sounds like you and Misty trying to do anything. So, was there a reason you needed to go to Cerulean, or did you just miss an old friend? You left in such a hurry I didn’t think to ask earlier.”

Ash’s face heated up in a flash, knowing that question was the perfect opening and suddenly feeling kind of…. nervous, probably? Which was weird and dumb, because Ash didn’t even get nervous in League battles as much as he got excited, so feeling apprehensive now at all times, standing not he edge of something that could be so awesome, it was weird that he almost didn’t wanna jump.

But in the end Ash was still Ash, and he shook off his anxiety to dig around in his backpack with a grin. His heart was beating as fast as it did right before a majorly anticipated pokemon battle, excited for the new things that awaited him and Goh in a future they might share together. 

“Actually, yeah,” Ash said. “There was something I wanted to go there for.” He pulled the pokeball out of his backpack and discarded the bag onto his bed, taking a deep breath to ready himself. He exchanged glances with Pikachu, who was halfway inside the doorframe and giving him a terribly unsubtle thumbs up with his tiny paw, before scurrying off out of the room, either to give them privacy or to get himself food (depending on how much of the situation Pikachu actually understood right now). The encouragement was appreciated either way.

Goh’s soft smile provided the rest of the courage Ash needed, and he offered out the pokeball to Goh. “I went because I wanted to catch this for you!”

He watched as Goh’s eyelashes fluttered as he blinked in surprise, taking the pokeball from Ash almost hesitantly. “T-that’s kind of weird of you. You’ve never caught a pokemon FOR me before.” A small blush was spreading across his face as he opened the pokeball.

The red beam of light from the ball formed into a tiny star shape, fading off into pink as a mildly confused cleffa popped out of the pokeball and into Goh’s arms.

“Oh my god, it’s a cleffa! They’re so rare, how did you find one? Ash, look at it, it’s even cuter than any of the pictures on the breeder’s websites! Oh my god, are it’s little ears green? Is this - did you find me a SHINY cleffa?”

Ash grinned, scratching his nose a little bashfully. The shininess had not actually been the goal of the trip - It had taken all three days in Mt. Moon to find a single cleffa of ANY color. The fact that the first one they’d stumbled across happened to be an ultra-rare shiny was just icing on the cake, something Ash called destiny and Misty called dumb-ass luck.

“It’s pretty great, right? I mean, I was at least hoping you’d be happy.”

“Of course I’m happy, this is amazing!” The cleffa trilled happily in his arms, and Goh squealed cutely and rubbed his face against it’s soft pink fur. “But,” He said hesitantly, that light blush staining his cheeks. “I have to ask, why did you go all the way to Cerulean to make Misty help you catch a cleffa for me?”

From the corner of his eye Ash could see half of Pikachu’s face peering at him from the doorway, peeking in in a manner that might have been subtle were it not for his ears giving him dead away. Ash smiled to himself, facing Goh and summoning up all of his confidence to declare, “It’s a courting gift! I wanted to ask you out on a date, and this was my attempt to… to… Woo you? Y-yeah!”

Goh blinked again, and Ash watched as the slight pink of his blush turned into a flaming tomato red, and his eyes grew large and a little wobbly. “T-that’s! I’m! Oh crap, I’m so embarrassed!” Goh squeaked, trying to hide his face behind cleffa. “I can’t believe… I’m so dumb, Ash!”

Blinking in confusion, Ash stepped forward unconsciously. “Uh, you’re not, though? I mean - what did I do - why do you think you’re dumb?”

“Because,” Goh said, not hiding behind cleffa anymore but not looking at Ash, either. “Because I thought we were already dating!”

Ash’s body took a moment before it decided how to react to that. When it did decide, it chose laughter as his response, a quickly smothered burst of happy noise he couldn't contain. “You thought - since when? How long have we actually been going out, and I didn’t notice?”

“I don’t know, since before we left to visit Kengal for sure? Oh jeez, stop looking at me like that! I don’t know why I assumed either, I just - you’re always so - and we’re always…”

“I know,” Ash agreed. “It’s great, right? I really love the way we’re always together, and always on the same page!” He paused. “There was a reason I wanted to actually ask you out and make it official, though.”

“Yeah?” Goh asked, still distracted by his own embarrassment to wonder what Ash was actually going to say.

“I was kind of thinking about doing stuff like, holding hands and kissing, and it seemed like I’d need to date you before I was allowed to start doing those things.” He paused. “Also, other reasons? But when I thought about why I liked you and wanted to be with you I found a LOT of reasons, like how much I liked the idea of us being permanently partners who can rely on each other even if we’re not on the same continent, and stuff like, how much I admire your stubbornness and ambitions and wanna be there with you when we make our dreams come true! But. Like. Also the kissing.”

“I -” Goh was meeting his eyes now, but only barely, head ducked down into his shoulders just the slightest degree. “I hadn’t actually considered the kissing part. I’d thought of all the sharing our dreams parts, but for some reason, I’d totally forgotten about kissing.”

“Pfft,” Ash smothered another laugh. “Okay I may be stupid enough not to have realized we were dating but at least I didn’t forget about kissing.”

“Hey, don’t make fun of me!” Goh defended hotly. “It’s not my fault, everything with you just felt so natural it didn’t feel like I was missing anything!”

Ash thought about that. “So, does that mean you don’t wanna kiss?”

“I never said that! Just because I didn’t think of it doesn’t mean I don’t want to now that I know it’s an option!”

Ash grinned. “So then, can I kiss you now?” 

Goh’s face flashed red again. “I… Can I put this cleffa down first?”

Laughing, Ash nodded, watching as Goh summoned the cleffa back to its pokeball and gently set it on the table. 

“Okay,” Goh said, standing up straight and looking adorably determined. “Okay, I’m ready.”

Ash stepped forward, leaning in and letting his eyes fall closed. When his lips made contact with Goh’s he felt the other boy shudder, a happy little shiver that ran through each of their spines. Goh’s lips were soft, and dry, and a little chapped, and before Ash could even think about what he was doing his tongue darted out to lick at Goh’s lips. 

Goh reeled back, breaking the kiss with a gasp. 

“Sorry,” Ash apologized quickly, “I wasn’t thinking.”

“It’s fine!” Goh said, but his voice was at a squeak and he wasn’t looking into Ash’s eyes again, so. Ash should probably be more careful not to move too quickly from here on. “I was just surprised. I didn’t… I didn’t hate it or anything.”

“Then,” Ash leaned in again, one of his hands finding its way to Goh’s waist. “You wouldn’t mind if I kissed you again?”

“I mean, we’re boyfriends, so. You don’t have to ask permission every time you wanna kiss me, Ash.” He paused, considerate. “As long as we’re not in public! Don’t get any weird ideas when we’re not alone, okay?” 

That seemed a little unfair, but also something Goh could gradually be talked out of once they were dating a little longer. “Okay,” Ash agreed for now. And then, because he apparently didn’t need permission, leaned in to steal another kiss from Goh.

This time, Goh leaned into it.

They didn’t kiss for long. After just a few seconds Pikachu apparently could not contain his excitement anymore and barreled into the room, delightedly headbutting Ash in the knees to express his joy. It was the view Ash got from the floor after he’d challenge over that he would always remember after that, the sight of Goh, still red-faced and pink-lipped from their kiss, laughing happily as Pikachu jumped up onto his shoulder to nuzzle him his cheek, giving Goh the slightest of sparkling shocks as Ash’s two partners cuddled into each other.

Ash couldn’t contain his smile. What could he say, he loved starting out on new adventures.

—


End file.
